The Country Fire Authority is considering adopting WA's grain harvest ban system to prevent fires.

Supplied: DFES

Western Australia is leading the way with grain harvest related fire prevention, with other states looking closely at its harvest and vehicle movement ban system.

During the bushfire season the Bureau of Meteorology supplies fire danger ratings to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) based on temperature, wind and humidity.

If weather conditions appear too risky, DFES issues total fire bans to the relevant regions and it's up to the local shires to determine whether or not to impose a harvest and vehicle movement ban.

The shires make the final declaration and also manage the bushfire response.

“We put it out on the SMS system,” said Corry Munson, the community emergency services manager for the Shire of Toodyay and Goomalling.

“It’ll also go up on the Shire website and we advertise it through the ABC and there’s also the avenue of letting local governments know to bound our borders.”

Harvest bans are closely monitored by farmers during grain harvest as they face tough penalties if they breach them.

“Under the bushfires act 1954 we can give an on the spot fine of $250 or if we decide it’s a bit more serious and we decide we want to prosecute an individual it can be up to $5000,” Mr Munson said.

Victoria doesn’t have any prohibition of harvesting on severe or extreme fire danger days and relies on the voluntary compliance of farmers.

The state’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) is considering adopting a similar system to WA.

“I think the Western Australian system has some great features,” said chief officer Euan Ferguson.

“In WA there’s a big stick that can be carried and would obviously only be used in extreme circumstances but in some cases that might be appropriate.

“Often we find that where there’s a penalty attached to a requirement to do something compliance is a lot easier to get.”

Mr Ferguson also admires how the WA system highlights the characteristics of different crops that impact fire fighting, particularly canola and lupins.

“I think it’s leading the country of how it’s identified the particular risks.

“This is something we’ve discovered this year, many of the harvesting fires we’ve had, particularly the ones which have run, have actually occurred when they’ve been harvesting lupins so there seems to be a common thread and it is certainly picked up in the Western Australian arrangements.”